Representing Jesus Well

Recently, I was reminded of my inability to sew when attempting to return a button to its rightful place on my shirt. The thread fought with the eye of the needle. The button slipped around like soft butter on hot toast. And the needle made a pincushion of my finger with each loop of the thread. I longed for a shortcut, thinking, ‘If only I could just staple the button back on!’

In this moment of frustration, I thought about how I have looked for shortcuts all of my life: I cheated in school tests to avoid endless study; I made myself ‘happy’ through drug and alcohol abuse; I ‘did my time’ in challenging relationships instead of nurturing them. Bible verses like Romans 5:3–5 helped me realise that what I had was a character problem; I was wishing that everything hard or time-consuming would just go away. As a result of Bible study and prayer, I now ask God to help me through challenges instead of finding shortcuts around them.

The Bible promises that good will result when we endure difficulties with patience. Perseverance will produce character. And character will produce hope. When Christians are known by perseverance, character and hope, we draw others to a life of serving Christ.

Prayer: O God, help us to be patient as we go about our day, especially when we are frustrated and about to give up. Amen